SCHOOL OF DIVINITY, HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY
ACADEMIC SESSION 2016-2017
HA3012/HA4012 Art and Society in Eighteenth-Century England
30 credits, 11 weeks + revision class
PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY:
The full set of school regulations and procedures is contained in the
Undergraduate Student Handbook which is available online at your
MyAberdeen Organisation page. Students are expected to familiarise
themselves not only with the contents of this leaflet but also with the contents
of the Handbook. Therefore, ignorance of the contents of the Handbook will
not excuse the breach of any School regulation or procedure.
You must familiarise yourself with this important information at the earliest
opportunity.
COURSE CO-ORDINATOR
Dr Helen Pierce
Room CB401
50-52 College Bounds
01224 272621
[email protected]
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Discipline Administration:
Mrs Kathleen Brebner
50-52 College Bounds
Room CB001
01224 273733
[email protected]
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TIMETABLE
Classes will take place in College Bounds CB203, on Tuesdays from 9.00- 11.00am and
on Thursdays from 11.00am-1.00pm.
Students can view their university timetable at
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/infohub/study/timetables-550.php
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course focuses on English art across the eighteenth century. It addresses
developments across a range of genres, from portraiture and historical narratives to
sporting art and satires, in the work of artists including Hogarth, Gainsborough,
Reynolds and Wright of Derby. It also considers the broader impact on the visual arts
of a burgeoning exhibition culture, the collecting ethos of the Grand Tour, and the
intellectual reforms of the Enlightenment age.
INTENDED AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning aims
Level 3
1) To provide students with an overview of major developments in English art across
the eighteenth century.
2) To develop an understanding of how art responded to broader social and cultural
changes during the period under study.
3) To explore and consider a range of genres in relation to audiences, patronage, and
display.
4) To develop team working and presentation skills.
Level 4
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1) To provide students with an overview of major developments in English art across
the eighteenth century, and to consider these developments in relation to the
broader social and cultural contexts of the period.
2) To enhance skills of comparative analysis in considering the work of major artists
such as Hogarth, Gainsborough, and Reynolds against that of both native and
foreign contemporaries.
3) To explore and consider a range of genres in relation to audiences, patronage,
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and display, and within the framework of theoretical and historiographical
models.
4) To enhance team working and presentation skills.
Main learning outcomes
Level 3
On completion of this course students will be able to:
1) Demonstrate a broad and integrated knowledge of the visual arts of eighteenthcentury England.
2) Place individual artists within a clear chronology of English art of the period
c.1700-1820.
3) Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the primary visual media through
which the artistic traditions of the period developed.
4) Show familiarity with the recent historiography relating to the module.
5) Demonstrate confidence in organising and delivering a group presentation on a
defined topic, using IT applications to support and enhance work.
Level 4
On completion of this course students will be able to:
1) Demonstrate a broad and integrated knowledge of the visual arts of eighteenthcentury England, with detailed knowledge and understanding in one or more
specialisms concerning medium, genre and/or technique.
2) Place individual artists within a clear chronology of English art, to account for their
influences, and to judge their impact on successive developments in both genre
and medium.
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3) Show a critical understanding of the primary visual media through which the
artistic traditions of the period developed.
4) Comment critically upon the recent historiography relating to the module.
5) Demonstrate confidence in researching, organising and delivering group
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presentations on a defined topic, using IT applications to support and enhance
work.
LECTURE/SEMINAR PROGRAMME
Key images and questions for discussion will be posted on MyAberdeen in advance of
each class.
The readings given here for each class are listed as “recommended reading” or
“further reading”. Those that are “recommended reading” will provide an
introduction to a particular subject, and you are strongly advised to read those
excerpts, whatever part you are playing in that day’s class. Books will be placed on
Heavy Demand, where applicable. The majority of journal articles can be accessed via
JSTOR or the University’s Library Catalogue, and certain other readings will be posted
to the HA3012/HA4012 ‘Class Resources’ section on MyAberdeen.
You are also advised to attempt as much of the “further reading” as you can. These
readings will be very useful in helping you to prepare for class discussions, as well as
for revising for the visual test and exam. If you find that you’re unable to get hold of
any recommended reading to prepare for a class, use your initiative; make use of the
online Oxford Dictionary of National Biography to find out about the lives and careers
of specific artists, and consult official gallery and museum websites for more on
individual artworks. The recommended web resources in this guide, including the
Getty Bibliography of the History of Art, should all give you some pointers. And if all
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else fails, please just ask me!
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WEEK 1 (12 – 16 September)
1. Tuesday, 13 September
Course arrangements, plus lecture: Helen Pierce, ‘Art and society in eighteenthcentury England: an overview’
Recommended reading
• Frederick Ogée, “British art and the social world” in David Bindman (ed.), The
History of British Art, volume 2 (2008), pp.154-173. HD
• David Mannings, “The visual arts” in Boris Ford (ed.), The Cambridge Cultural
History of Britain: The Eighteenth Century (1992), pp.106-47. HD
2. Thursday, 15 September
Tutorial: William Hogarth as portraitist
Recommended reading
• Mark Hallett and Christine Riding (eds.), Hogarth (2006), chapter 7. Copy in Class
Resources.
• Ellis Waterhouse, Painting in Britain, 1530-1790 (various editions), chapters 10
and 11. HD
Further reading
• Richard Wendorf, ‘Hogarth’s dilemma’, Art Journal, 46:3 (Autumn 1987), pp.200208. Available via JSTOR.
• David Bindman, Hogarth (1985), chapter 7.
• Web resource: Hogarth at Tate Britain, the online presence accompanying the
2006 exhibition and Hallett and Riding’s catalogue:
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http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/hogarth
WEEK 2 (19 – 23 September)
1. Tuesday, 20 September
Tutorial: Hogarth’s ‘Modern Moral Subjects’
Recommended reading
• Peter Wagner, ‘Hogarth’s “modern moral subjects” in David Bindman (ed.), The
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History of British Art, volume 2 (2008), pp.174-5. Copy in Class Resources.
• Mark Hallett and Christine Riding (eds.), Hogarth (2006), chapters 3 and
6. HD
• Kate Heard, “‘Prints should be priz’d as authors should read: Hogarth and graphic
art” in Desmond Shawe-Taylor (ed.), The First Georgians: Art and Monarchy,
1714-1760 (2014), pp.137-165. Copy in Class Resources.
Further reading
• Judy Egerton, Hogarth’s Marriage à la Mode (1997).
• Mark Hallett, Hogarth (2000), chapters 2, 3 and 6. HD
• David Bindman, Hogarth and his Times: Serious Comedy (2007).
• Web resource: Hogarth at Tate Britain, the online presence accompanying the
2006 exhibition and Hallett and Riding’s catalogue:
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/hogarth
2. Thursday, 22 September Tutorial: The Conversation Piece
Recommended reading:
• Martin Postle, ‘The conversation piece’ in David Bindman (ed.), The History of
British Art, volume 2 (2008), pp.178-79. Copy in Class Resources.
• Desmond Shawe-Taylor, ‘English conversation pieces’ in Desmond Shawe-Taylor
(ed.), The First Georgians: Art and Monarchy, 1714-1760 (2014), pp.370-79. HD
• Kate Retford, ‘From the interior to interiority: the conversation piece in Georgian
England’, Journal of Design History, 20:4 (Winter 2007), pp.291-307. Available via
the Library Catalogue.
Further reading:
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• Desmond Shawe-Taylor, The Conversation Piece: Scenes of Fashionable
Life (2009), pp.62-95. HD
• C J Chen, ‘The tea party in early Georgian conversation pieces’, The British Art
Journal, 10:1 (Spring 2009), pp.30-39. Available via the Library Catalogue.
• Polite Society by Arthur Devis, 1712-1787: Portraits of the English Country
Gentleman and his Family (1984).
• William Vaughan, British Painting: The Golden Age (1999), chapter 3. HD
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WEEK 3 (26 – 30 September)
1. Tuesday, 27 September
Group presentation 1: Vauxhall Gardens
Place yourselves in Jonathan Tyers’ shoes, and present the class with a sales pitch for
Vauxhall Gardens: who will your visitors be, why will they come and what will they
experience when they are there?
Essay question:
Explain the role played by artworks in the visitor experience at Vauxhall Gardens in
the mid-eighteenth century.
Recommended reading
• T J Edelstein, ‘Vauxhall Gardens’ in Boris Ford (ed.), The Cambridge Guide to the
Arts in Britain, Volume 5: the Augustan Age (1991), pp.202-215. HD
• David Coke, ‘Vauxhall Gardens’ in Rococo: Art and Design in Hogarth’s
England (1984), pp.74-98. Copy in Class Resources.
• David Bindman, ‘Vauxhall Gardens’ in David Bindman (ed.), The History of British
Art, volume 2 (2008), pp.176-77. Copy in Class Resources.
Further reading
• David Coke and Alan Borg, Vauxhall Gardens: A History (2011). The latest
publication, with excellent illustrations. Chapter 3, ‘“Favourite fancies”: the
artwork, 1732-1765’ is of particular relevance to this week’s essay question. HD
• Web resource: www.vauxhallgardens.com hosted by David Coke, promoting and
complementing the above publication.
• Brian Allen, Francis Hayman (1987), esp. pp.62-70 and pp.107-9, on Hayman’s
supper boxes at the Gardens.
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• David Solkin, Painting for Money (1993), chapter 4.
• Lawrence Gowing, ‘Hogarth, Hayman, and the Vauxhall decorations’, The
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Burlington Magazine, January 1953, pp.4-18. An old but important article, laying
foundations for later research by Allen, Coke et al. Available via JSTOR.
2. Thursday, 29 September
Group presentation 3: The Grand Tour
Provide the class with an ideal itinerary for a typical Englishman on the Grand Tour;
where would he visit, what activities would he undertake, what were his motivations
and expectations?
Essay question: Analyse the social and cultural role of the Grand Tour portrait, both
abroad and at home.
Recommended reading
• Andrew Wilton and Ilaria Bignamini, Grand Tour: the Lure of Italy in the
Eighteenth Century (1996). Read as much as you can of this well- illustrated
catalogue – the short essays by Cesare da Seta and John Ingamells, plus relevant
catalogue entries, are advised as a minimum. HD
• ‘British patrons and the Grand Tour’, in Edgar Peters Bowron and Peter Bjorn
Kerber (eds.), Pompeo Batoni: Prince of Painters in Eighteenth- Century Rome
(2007).
• Hugh Belsey, ‘Cameos from the Grand Tour: the paintings of Pompeo Batoni’,
History Today, 32:8 (August 1982), pp.46-9. Available via the Library Catalogue.
Further reading
• Ian Jenkins, Vases and Volcanoes: Sir William Hamilton and his Collection (1996).
• Brinsley Ford, ‘The Englishman in Italy’ in Gervase Jackson-Stops, The Treasure
Houses of Britain (1985), pp.40-49, plus relevant catalogue entries.
• Jonathan Scott, The Pleasures of Antiquity (2003).
• Jeremy Black, The British Abroad: The Grand Tour in the Eighteenth Century
(2003), pp.287-310.
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WEEK 4 (3 – 7 October)
1. Tuesday, 4 October
Tutorial: Canaletto in England
Recommended reading
• Charles Beddington, Canaletto in England: A Venetian Artist Abroad, 1746-1755
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(2006). Please read Charles Beddington’s introductory essay (copy in Class
Resources), plus relevant catalogue entries, as a minimum. HD
• Web resource: Canaletto in England – Dulwich Picture Gallery, a short video
introducing the 2006 Canaletto in England exhibition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWLHuNzs6Ac
Further reading
• J G Links, Canaletto (1982).
• Michael Levey, Canaletto Paintings in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen
(1964).
• Desmond Shawe-Taylor (ed.), The First Georgians: Art and Monarchy, 1714-1760
(2014), pp.355-57. HD
2. Thursday, 6 October
Group presentation 4: The Royal Academy
Justify the establishment of the Royal Academy to the class. Think about its role in
terms of the broader art world, and also its relation to earlier and contemporary
training schools for artists in England.
Essay question: Evaluate the benefits of the Royal Academy to young and emerging
artists in the second half of the eighteenth century.
Recommended reading
• Martin Myrone, ‘The British artist, c.1570-c.1870’ in David Bindman (ed.), The
History of British Art, volume 2 (2008), pp.199-204. HD
• William Vaughan, British Painting: The Golden Age (1999), chapter 5. HD
• Martin Postle, ‘The Royal Academy at Somerset House: the early years’, The
British Art Journal, 2:2 (Winter 2000-2001), 29-35. Available via Library Catalogue
Further reading:
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• Mark Hallett, ‘Reading the walls: pictorial dialogue at the British Royal Academy’,
Eighteenth-Century Studies, 37:4 (Summer 2004), pp.581- 604. Available via
JSTOR.
• David Solkin, Art on the Line: the Royal Academy exhibitions at Somerset House,
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1780-1836 (2001). HD
WEEK 5 (10 – 14 October)
1. Tuesday, 11 October
NO CLASS
2. Thursday, 13 October
Tutorial: Joshua Reynolds and Grand Manner Portraiture
Recommended reading
• Shearer West, ‘Grand Manner portraiture’ in David Bindman (ed.), The History of
British Art, volume 2 (2008), pp.144-45. Copy in Class Resources.
• Martin Postle (ed.), Joshua Reynolds: The Creation of Celebrity (2005); you should
read the short essays by Martin Postle (copy in Class Resources) and Mark
Hallett, plus relevant catalogue entries as a minimum. HD
• Lucy Davis and Mark Hallett (eds.), Joshua Reynolds: Experiments in Paint (2015);
catalogue to a recent exhibition at the Wallace Collection. HD
Further reading
• David Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds: A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings
(2000) – useful for looking up details of individual paintings.
• Mark Hallett, Reynolds: Portraiture in Action (2014).
• Richard Wendorf, Joshua Reynolds: The Painter in Society (1996).
• Ellis Waterhouse, Painting in Britain, 1530-1790 (various editions), chapter 16. HD
• Nicholas Penny, Reynolds (1986) – catalogue of a major Royal Academy
exhibition.
WEEK 6 (17 – 21 October)
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1. Tuesday, 18 October
Tutorial: Thomas Gainsborough: Portraiture and the Academy
Recommended reading
• Martin Postle, Thomas Gainsborough (2002), chapters 2 and 4. HD
• Michael Rosenthal and Martin Myrone (eds.), Gainsborough (2002), pp.10-25,
plus relevant catalogue entries. Copy in Class Resources.
• Ellis Waterhouse, Painting in Britain, 1530-1790 (various editions), chapter 18, for
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a useful general introduction to Gainsborough. HD
Further reading:
• Susan Sloman, Gainsborough in Bath (2002), especially chapter 5.
• Michael Rosenthal, The Art of Thomas Gainsborough (1999), chapters 3 and 4. HD
• John T Hayes, Thomas Gainsborough (1980).
2. Thursday, 20 October
Tutorial: Thomas Gainsborough: Landscape and the Rustic Idyll
Required reading
• Ann Bermingham ‘Introduction’ in Ann Bermingham (ed.), Sensation and
Sensibility: Viewing Gainsborough’s Cottage Door (2005), pp.1-34. Copy in Class
Resources.
• Martin Postle, Thomas Gainsborough (2002), chapter 3. Copy in Class Resources.
Further reading
• Hugh Belsey, Thomas Gainsborough: A Country Life (2002).
• Paul Spencer-Longhurst, Thomas Gainsborough: The Harvest Wagon (1995).
• John Hayes, The Landscape Paintings of Thomas Gainsborough (1982).
• Michael Rosenthal, The Art of Thomas Gainsborough (1999), chapters 8 and 9.
WEEK 7 (24 – 28 October)
1. Tuesday, 25 October
Tutorial: Satirical Prints, Gillray and Rowlandson 1
Recommended reading
• Richard Godfrey, James Gillray: the Art of Caricature (2001). Read as much as you
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can of this engaging catalogue, but certainly Mark Hallett’s essay (copy in Class
Resources) on pp.23-37 and relevant catalogue entries. HD
• Kate Heard, High Spirits: The Comic Art of Thomas Rowlandson (2013), pp.33-50.
Copy in Class Resources.
• William Vaughan, British Painting: The Golden Age (1999), chapter 8. HD
Further reading
• Patricia Phagan, Thomas Rowlandson: Pleasures and Pursuits in Georgian England
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(2010).
• Vic Gatrell, City of Laughter: Sex and Satire in Eighteenth-Century London (2007).
• Cindy McCreery, The Satirical Gaze: Prints of Women in Late Eighteenth-Century
England (2004).
• Diana Donald, The Age of Caricature: Satirical Prints in the Reign of George III
(1996).
• M Dorothy George, Hogarth to Cruikshank: Social Change in Graphic Satire (1967).
2. Thursday, 27 October
Tutorial: Satirical Prints, Gillray and Rowlandson 2
In this class, held at the Sir Duncan Rice Library, we will have the opportunity to
examine some eighteenth-century satirical prints at first hand. Please meet in
Seminar Room 224 on the second floor of the Library at 11am.
A list of artworks which we’ll be viewing, together with suggested preparatory
reading, will be circulated before the class.
WEEK 8 (31 October – 4 November)
NO CLASSES: VISITS TO THE BURN/PARIS
WEEK 9 (7 – 11 November)
1. Tuesday, 8 November NO CLASS
2. Thursday, 11 November
Tutorial: George Stubbs and Sporting Art
Required reading:
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• Stephen Deuchar, ‘Stubbs and horse painting’ in David Bindman (ed.), The History
of British Art, volume 2 (2008), pp.146-7. Copy in Class Resources.
• Martin Myrone, George Stubbs (2002). Read as much of this slim volume as you
can, but especially chapters 1 and 2. HD
• Ellis Waterhouse, Painting in Britain, 1530-1790 (various editions), chapter 22. HD
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Further reading:
• Judy Egerton, George Stubbs: Anatomist and Animal Painter (1976).
• Judy Egerton, ‘“So good with the humbler persons”: Stubbs as portraitist’, The
Burlington Magazine, October 2007, pp.672-77. Available via JSTOR.
• George Stubbs, 1724-1806 (Tate Gallery exhibition catalogue, 1984).
• Stephen Deuchar, Sporting Art in Eighteenth-Century England: A Social and
Political History (1988).
• William Vaughan, British Painting: The Golden Age (1999), chapter 10. HD
WEEK 10 (14 – 18 November)
1. Tuesday, 15 November
Tutorial: History Painting
Recommended reading:
• Ellis Waterhouse, Painting in Britain, 1530-1790 (various editions), chapter 20. HD
• William Vaughan, British Painting: The Golden Age (1999), chapter 6. HD
• Brian Allen, ‘Rule Britannia? History painting in eighteenth-century Britain’, History
Today, 45:6 (June 1995), pp.12-18. Available via the Library Catalogue.
• Benjamin West, ‘On the death of Major Wolfe’ in Charles Harrison and
Paul Wood (eds.), Art in Theory, 1648-1830: An Anthology of Changing Ideas
(2001), pp.649-51. Copy in Class Resources.
Further reading:
• Ann Uhry Abrams, The Valiant Hero: Benjamin West and Grand-Style History
Painting (1985).
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• Richard Saunders, ‘Genius and glory: J S Copley’s The Death of Major Peirson’, The
American Art Journal, 22:3 (Autumn 1990), pp.4-39.
Available via JSTOR.
2. Thursday, 17 November
Tutorial: Landscape and the Picturesque
Recommended reading
• Nicholas Grindle, ‘New ways of seeing: landscape painting and visual culture,
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c.1620-c.1870’ in David Bindman (ed.), The History of British Art, volume 2 (2008),
pp.122-43. HD
• William Gilpin, from ‘On picturesque beauty’ and ‘On picturesque travel’ in
Charles Harrison and Paul Wood (eds.), Art in Theory, 1648- 1830: An Anthology of
Changing Ideas (2001), pp.857-62. Copy in Class Resources.
Further reading
• Hugh Belsey, From Gainborough to Constable: the Emergence of Naturalism in
British Landscape Painting, 1750-1810 (1991).
• Ellis Waterhouse, Painting in Britain, 1530-1790 (various editions), chapter 17. HD
• David Solkin, Richard Wilson: The Landscape of Reaction (1982).
• Web resource: the online Richard Wilson catalogue raisonné, compiled by Paul
Spencer-Longhurst, and supported by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in
British Art: http://www.richardwilsononline.ac.uk
• Web resource: Richard Wilson and the Transformation of European Landscape
Painting, recent exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven:
http://britishart.yale.edu/exhibitions/richard-wilson-and-transformation-europeanlandscape-painting
WEEK 11 (21 – 25 November)
1. Tuesday, 22 November
Tutorial: Joseph Wright of Derby
Recommended reading
• Elizabeth E. Barker, ‘Joseph Wright of Derby and Industry’ in David Bindman (ed.),
The History of British Art, volume 2 (2008), pp.182-3. Copy in Class Resources.
• Elizabeth Barker and Alex Kidson, Wright of Derby in Liverpool (2007), especially
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pp.41-84. HD
Further reading
• David Solkin, ‘Joseph Wright and the sublime art of labor’, Representations, 83
(Summer 2003), pp.167-94. Available from JSTOR.
• Ellis Waterhouse, Painting in Britain, 1530-1790 (various editions), chapter 21. HD
• Jane Wallis, Joseph Wright of Derby (1997).
• Judy Egerton, Wright of Derby (1990).
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2. Thursday, 24 November
VISUAL TEST
REVISION WEEK (28 November – 2 December)
1. Tuesday, 29 November
Revision class
2. Thursday 1 December
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NO CLASS
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
The short list below of general studies and catalogues is in addition to the reading
listed above for individual classes. It is given for reference and is merely a starting
point; it is by no means exhaustive. Students are also expected to undertake their
own research and find their own sources for their presentations and essays, in
preparation for class tutorials, and for revision.
Robyn Asleson and Shelley Bennett, British Paintings at the Huntington (2001). John
Brewer, The Pleasures of the Imagination: English Culture in the Eighteenth Century
(1997).
Joseph Burke, English Art, 1714-1800 (1976).
Judy Egerton, The British School (1998) – the National Gallery’s catalogue of its British
collection.
Elizabeth Einberg and Judy Egerton, The Age of Hogarth: British Painters Born 16751709 (1988).
Elizabeth Einberg, Manners and Morals: Hogarth and British Painting, 1700- 1760
(1987).
John Hayes, British Paintings of the Sixteenth Through Nineteenth Centuries
(1992) – National Gallery of Art, Washington catalogue.
Oliver Millar, The Later Georgian Paintings in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen
(1969).
Sheila O’Connell, London 1753 (2003).
Marcia Pointon, Hanging the Head: Portraiture and Social Formation in EighteenthCentury England (1993).
Aileen Ribeiro, The Art of Dress: Fashion in England and France, 1750 to 1820
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(1995).
Rococo: Art and Design in Hogarth’s England (1984).
Desmond Shawe-Taylor, The Georgians: Eighteenth-Century Portraiture and Society
(1990).
Kim Sloan (ed.) Enlightenment: Discovering the World in the Eighteenth Century
(2003).
David Solkin, Art in Britain, 1660-1815 (2015). HD
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Individual artists will generally be found under the shelfmark 759.42 plus the first
three letters of the artist’s surname, eg. books on Hogarth will be at 759.42 Hog,
those on Gainsborough at 759.42 Gai; if in doubt, check the Library Catalogue.
INTERNET RESOURCES
Internet resources should be used intelligently. JSTOR provides online access to a
number of academic journals, and a list of useful websites in relation to the course is
given below. The locations of individual artworks are always clearly stated on
MyAberdeen, and official gallery websites generally provide another reliable starting
point for your preparation for seminars and presentations.
http://www.oxforddnb.com The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: the on-line
version of the updated and recently published revision of the ODNB, which can also
be found as hard copy in the Sir Duncan Rice Library. This is a very helpful resource
for biographical details of both artists and sitters.
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection Use this site to locate artworks,
exhibition content and further reading relating to the vast and highly important
Royal Collection; its 2014 exhibition The First Georgians: Art and Monarchy 17141760, is of particular relevance to this course.
http://britishart.yale.edu/collections/search The collections search facility of the
Yale Center for British Art in New Haven; this site lets you download high- quality
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images for academic study.
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/ The V&A, Britain’s major museum of the decorative
arts; search here for images of museum artefacts, together with detailed object
descriptions and suggestions for further reading.
http://www.npg.org.uk The National Portrait Gallery’s online presence, which
includes access to an extensive collection of eighteenth-century images.
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http://www.tate.org.uk The Tate’s web presence gives you access to online
summaries of recent exhibitions and displays at Tate Britain, together with relevant
research articles on British art in Tate Papers and Tate etc magazine.
http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx The
British Museum’s on-line database includes its complete collection of prints and
drawings, containing many eighteenth-century British portraits, satires and
broadsides, and preparatory drawings. You can download high- quality images from
this site for your own private study.
http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/bha/ The Bibliography of
History of Art (BHA) hosted by the Getty Institute, providing bibliographical
information on material published between 1975 and 2007. A useful resource for
essay research.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History hosted by
the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The thematic essays found here are generally brief
but informative – for this course search under ‘European Art’ and then ‘Seventeenth
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and Eighteenth Centuries’.
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ASSESSMENT
Student performance in this course is assessed by written examination, slide test,
class contribution/seminar presentation and course essays as follows:
Two course essays, which will each count for 20% of the course mark.
A 2 hour written examination will be held in December 2016, which will count for
30% of the course mark.
A 1 hour visual test will be held in Week 11, which will count for 20% of the course
mark.
Class contribution, based on attendance and tutorial participation, and your group
presentation, which will count for 5% + 5% = 10% of the course mark.
Students who are retaking the entire course (not just the exam and resits) must
submit new essays for their course work. It is not permitted to resubmit previous
essays.
To view the CGS Descriptors please go to MyAberdeen - Organisations-Divinity,
History, & Philosophy Student Information for Undergraduates. The link to the CGS
Descriptors is on the left hand menu.
ESSAYS
Your first essay will be your answer to the question relating to your group
presentation, and which is given above. The completed essay must be submitted one
week after the presentation takes place. These instructions apply to both Level 3
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and Level 4 students.
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Level 3
Your second essay should be chosen from the following questions, and must be
submitted by 3.00pm on Tuesday, 22 November 2016. If you wish to devise your
own question, please consult with HP first.
1. ‘We are now arrived at the period in which the arts were sunk to the lowest ebb
in Britain.’ Are Horace Walpole’s remarks on the reign of George I (r.1714-27)
justified?
2. Are the satirical prints of Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray better
understood today as works of art, or as historical documents?
3. Compare and contrast the approaches of Joshua Reynolds and Thomas
Gainsborough to grand manner portraiture.
4. How successful was George Stubbs in elevating the genre of animal painting?
At Level 3, both your essays for this course should be approximately 2000 words
long, including quotations and footnotes, and should be word- processed and
accompanied by a thorough bibliography; students should note that they will be
penalised for work which is either too long or too short (a 10% margin will be
allowed). In each essay the use of at least one periodical article accessed via JSTOR
http://www.jstor.org or Art and Architecture Complete (database accessed via Primo)
is compulsory.
LEVEL 4
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Your second essay should respond to the following question, and must be submitted
by 3.00pm on Tuesday, 22 November 2016.
Choose one artist working in eighteenth-century England, and assess their
contribution to the development of a distinctly English school of painting.
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At Level 4, both your essays for this course should be approximately 2500 words
long, including quotations and footnotes, and should be word- processed and
accompanied by a thorough bibliography; students should note that they will be
penalised for work which is either too long or too short (a 10% margin will be
allowed). In each essay the use of at least one periodical article accessed via JSTOR
http://www.jstor.org or Art and Architecture Complete (database accessed via Primo)
is compulsory.
SUBMISSION ARRANGEMENTS
Submit one paper copy with a completed essay cover sheet to the drop boxes in
CB008 in 50-52 College Bounds and one official electronic copy to TurnitinUK via
MyAberdeen. Both copies to be submitted by 3.00pm on the due date.
Paper Copy:
One paper copy, typed and double spaced, together with an
Assessment cover sheet – this should have your ID number
clearly written on the cover sheet, with NO name or signature
but EVERYTHING ELSE completed, including tutor’s name – and
should be delivered to the drop boxes in CB008, 50-52 College
Bounds.
Electronic Copy:
One copy submitted through TurnitinUK via MyAberdeen.
(for instructions please see
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/eLearning/turnitinuk/students/ )
Students are asked to retain the TurnitinUK receipt so they are
able to provide proof of submission at a later date if required.
In advance of uploading, please save the assignment with your student ID number
listed in the filename, i.e. 59999999 HA3012 or HA4012 Essay 1.
Course Document - | 2016-2017
When asked to enter a title for the assignment, please enter a title identical to the
name of your saved assignment, i.e. 59999999 HA3012 or HA4012 Essay 1.
Both copies to be submitted by 3.00pm on the due date.
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Please note: Failure to submit both an official electronic copy to TurnitinUK, and an
identical paper copy, will result in a deduction of marks.
Failure to submit to TurnitinUK will result in a zero mark.
EXAMINATION
A 2 hour written examination will be held in December 2016, which will count for
30% of the course mark.
A 1 hour visual test will be held in Week 11, which will count for 20% of the course
mark.
Resit Eligibility:
Level 3: Candidates are only eligible to resit an examination provided that each
element of coursework assessment has been submitted.
Level 4: Normally no resit available.
Past exam papers can be viewed at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/learning-and-
Course Document - | 2016-2017
teaching/for-students/exam-papers/.
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